Goodbye Lola Madre...

Our family received news of Sr. La Gracia Salvador's demise last Saturday, March 5, 2005. Sr. Grace or Lola Madre to us succumbed to cardiac arrest. She was 81 and was survived by her siblings, my grandmother and Lola Rosie. It was a sad day for all of us, especially for me since a lot of my childhood memories are comprised of visits to her at the RVM Convent. We simply call it The Mother House...I remember when I was a kid that we will visit her every so often and those visits were capped with a visit to the nearby Magnolia Ice Cream House. I also recall those days when I just play on the grounds of The Mother House while Lola Madre watches over. Then she'd talk to me afterwards and she'd tell me things like be a good kid, and be an obedient grand daughter to my lola among other things. What I so loved about Lola Madre was the fact that she's living a life of service to the Lord but she was so human at the same time. She was never the stiff and reserved one. In fact, she was so carefree and she has always been perky. She was never the prototype nun which spelled F-U-N for a child like I was then. She liked basketball, rooting for the Ginebra squad, and cheeseburgers...

At least she is now in the loving arms of the Lord, leaving behind a life well-lived in the service of God and his people. Thank you Lola Madre for the wonderful memories and for everything that you were to the family. I am going to miss you terribly...